11: Power

While doable, punching and kicking monsters has much less efficiency than using a weapon or tool to fight. And while there is nothing I want more than to give my new memories a test drive, I only have twenty-nine days left to memorize wilderness survival skills before I return to the Dream realm.

Entering the learning center, I had to pass by a multitude of rooms to locate the wilderness survival classroom. It was one of three classrooms located on the second level, with the other two being mundane topics like physics and mathematics.

Opening the door to the class, I was greeted with the image of an older man standing over Sunny.

"Understanding the language of the spell is incredibly useful in a number of ways. There are thirty runes for death, each carrying different ideologies and meaningful insights into the challenges civilizations went through."

Like a shark smelling blood in the water, the old man suddenly turned to me. He looked me up and down excitedly before shaking his head with a sigh.

"Young man, the combat classes are downstairs. Please be careful with your strength when you close the door. I need it to isolate my pupil so he can fully concentrate on the lesson."

Turning back to Sunny, I interrupted before he could start his teachings again. I wanted to learn too after all.

"Actually, Awakened Julius, I was also recommended by Master Jet to attend your courses. My situation is a bit unique, so I will also be taking combat classes, but for at least half the day, I am yours."

Startled, a crazed expression appeared in Awakened Julius's eyes. Almost imperceptibly, I heard Awakened Julius ramble to himself as I was suddenly soaked in cold sweat.

"Two pupils to myself, all mine to educate and instruct. They will both be immortals, gods of survival. Heh heh heh..."

'Uh, do I break the news... again?'

"Awakened Julius, I believe I mentioned that my situation forces me to be in both wilderness survival and combat classes. I cannot spend all my time in one class over the other. But you will still have me for at least six hours a day."

As the crazed expression disappeared from Awakened Julius's face, he dropped his gaze toward the ground, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

"You are right; no matter how much I want to instill decades worth of knowledge in you for your own good, I can't overstep my bounds. Please call me Teacher Julius or Scholar Julius if you prefer. There is no need to attach such mundane titles as Sleeper or Awakened to those in search of greater understanding. What is your name, young man?"

Taking the seat beside Sunny, I faced Teacher Julius and said, "I am Sleepe... Student Atlas, Pillar of Heaven. But please refer to me as Atlas or Student Atlas if you prefer. I don't believe I am worthy to hold my true name, Pillar of Heaven, quite yet."

With a pleased smile Teacher Julius practically sped to his desk, retrieving a thick stack of papers. Similar to the stack in front of Sunny, it had to be at least seven inches tall.

"Student Atlas, this packet will all but guarantee your survival in the world of the Dream realm. Each chapter is divided into subsections to clarify certain points about a number of creatures, regions, runes, and civilizations discovered in the Dream realm."

Stopping to catch his breath, the crazed expression momentarily appeared on Teacher Julius's face once again.

"It will also cover topics such as cooking and what to look for when selecting a Citadel. Spoiler alert, make sure it has great plumbing."

-------

After a grueling seven hours of workflow study, I was a tenth of the way through the packet, barely finished with understanding all of the regions in the Dream realm. But it was mighty fine with me; understanding the Dream realm would be a long and arduous process.

I had left Sunny with Teacher Julius to go to combat classes. I swear I saw him glaring at me when I was leaving. Probably mumbling about "damnation" under his breath, just Sunless things really.

Not to mention, I was a little reluctant to attend classes so soon into the month before solstice. There was just way too much I needed to learn.

Especially since the original work, while goated, had almost no direct knowledge about the Dream realm.

Sunny was a little slower than I was, taking more time to go through the information even with his amazing memory. My talent in that aspect seemed to have also increased since I transmigrated here. Or maybe it was Prodigy putting in work; either way, my progress was just enough that I was okay to leave.

Arriving at combat class, I was surprised to find out it had two different group times. Likely because everyone and their mother looked to take it.

I wasn't surprised, as most were already educated about the workings of the Dream realm, most coming from a decent background, unlike Sunny and Jet. I would count myself, but it seems I came into existence in this universe at seventeen. No background, family, friends—nothing. Which is fine with me; I am glad I came to be when I did because life in the Outskirts is rough.

Who's to say I would have survived out there long enough to be a spell carrier?

Anyway, although I had left survival class on time, Instructor Rock had started early on the intro to combat, and I barely caught the end of his introduction.

"With that being said, we need a benchmark to properly guide you."

Gesturing behind him, a machine was slowly wheeled out and placed in the middle of the gymnasium. It very closely resembled the machine I had destroyed in the police station, but this one seemed much more durable and up-to-date.

"This finely crafted tool can determine your striking force with utmost precision. And by watching your strike, I can determine what weapons might be best suited to you. Of course, you are free to ignore my advice; some of you have already practiced with weapons provided by your clan or families. Your ranking will also determine who we partner you up with, it is more productive to gain experience when you are fighting someone on the same level as you physically."

With that said, we all lined up. I had already made my way forward while he spoke and was somewhere in the middle of the line. No way was I going to be dead last to punch the machine.

Slowly but surely, hundreds of punches rang out; most hits scored from ten to fourteen. There were a few outliers just below or above those numbers, of course.

Next up was Nephis; she gracefully walked up to the machine, still displaying a nine from the previous student. As I did at the police station, she assumed a stance and prepared her punch. With amazing speed, she pushed off the ground and twisted, her whole body being used to empower her strike.

With a dull clank, the machine calculated her score in a second or two.

{16}

Most were underwhelmed by her score, as they expected a true name holder to go above and beyond the norm. The few that were impressed realized she had not used her aspect ability and relied only on her strength and technique.

Moving to the side, she maintained her graceful demeanor and took a seat in the corner, waiting for the next stage to start.

Caster was up next; whether by design or luck, the world would never know. He also held a graceful bearing, albeit much more noble than Nephis. But that was to be expected of someone from a clan. While Nephis was a part of the Immortal Flame clan, it was destroyed while she was growing up, and she never realized her full ego.

Just as he made it into striking range, his figure blurred, becoming almost invisible before he suddenly reappeared, fist to the metal plate. It rang a much louder sound than Nephis's attempt, and for good reason, his score was much higher.

{21}

Caster had one of the best aspect abilities in the series. F=MA. I could only imagine how big a nightmare he would be to fight if he had the Mantle of the Underworld and could use the feather of truth enchantment.

Receiving claps from the class, he had scored the highest so far, and by a large margin too.

After a few dozen nobodies, including the rest of Casters pitiful fans, it was my turn. Walking up to the machine I turned to Instructor Rock.

"Awakened Rock, last time I used something like this, I broke it. Will I have to pay if the same thing happens again?"

A few laughs resounded from the class as Awakened Rock looked at me seriously.

"These machines are the most up-to-date and advanced pieces of technology we have available. If you can break one of these, I will pay for the repairs out of pocket."

Still laughing, the class slowly calmed down from their stupor, looking forward to seeing my score.

"I am going to hit twice if that is okay. My aspect ability is an overall enhancement, so I want to see the difference between scores."

Seeing Instructor Rock nod, I faced the machine again.

Thinking back to the police academy, my body acted on its own and threw the same punch as then. A dull creak resounded from the machine as it seemingly took a little longer to calculate.

{31}

Without missing a beat, I quickly activated my ability aspect ability, Surge. Overwhelming power filled my body; it felt euphoric in a way I couldn't explain, like everything was as it should be.

Turning into a blur, I noticed a lone shadow just before my hit landed. It was buried in the darkness, almost impossible to notice. No, it was impossible until I activated my ability.

'Surge really does enhance everything.'

Feeling my fist make contact, I focused on my mission once again: to break the machine. And I did, in a way.

{62}

A rather large dent appeared in the plate of the machine, just in the shape of my fist.